State: Towson rallies in 2nd half, tops William & Mary in 2OT

Jerelle Benimon scored 26 points to lead five players in double figures, and Towson came back from a 13-point deficit in the second half to beat William & Mary, 99-86, in double overtime Wednesday night in a Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball game.

William & Mary All-CAA guard Marcus Thornton, held to two points in the first half, finished with 24. Brandon Britt scored 17, Kyle Gaillard had 14, and Matt Rum (Loyola) 13 for the Tribe (7-7, 1-2 CAA).

Tim Rusthoven had 12 points for the Tribe before fouling out. The visitors had assists on their first 10 baskets and 17 of their first 24 field goals.

The game was tied at 78 after the first overtime. Hairston hit a 3-pointer to give the Tigers an 81-78 lead with 4:39 left in the second overtime. Damas sealed the win with 25.5 seconds remaining with two free throws to make it 97-86.

A basket by Benimon with 1:50 to go in the first overtime gave Towson a 74-72 lead. Thornton missed a twisting layup with 21 seconds to go, and after a foul by the Tribe, Burwell made two free throws with 17.1 seconds left to give the Tigers a 76-72 edge.

Thornton hit a long 3-pointer to cut the lead to 76-75 with 12.8 seconds left, but Hairston made two free throws with 9.8 seconds remaining to make it 78-75. Thornton made another long 3-pointer with 0.6 of a second left to tie the game at 78 and send it to a second overtime.

Rum hit a basket to give the Tribe a 60-47 lead with 7:10 to go in regulation — the largest of the game for either team.

Damas cut the lead to 68-66 with two free throws with 22.3 seconds left. After a steal on an inbounds pass, a basket by Kris Walden tied the game at 68 with 17.7 seconds to go. William & Mary lost the ball in the closing seconds, and Towson could not get off a shot as the game went to overtime.

Towson, which was 1-31 overall last season, was winless at home this season before Wednesday; it had not won four consecutive games since the 2000-01 season. The Tigers have not posted a winning CAA mark since joining the league nearly 12 years ago.

Patrick Konan scored 17 points and Chris Pelcher had 13 for the Wildcats (4-11, 0-3), who lost their sixth consecutive game.

Wesley 75, Frostburg State 67: Frostburg's Shawn Henson made a free throw for the final tie at 63 with 2:43 left. But the visiting Wolverines (13-4, 3-1 Capital Athletic Conference) made three straight baskets and went 5-for-7 from the free throw line in the final minute to win.

Christian Jackson had a game-high 31 points for the Bobcats ( 5-10, 1-3).

Goucher 63, Susquehanna 56 OT: Richard Harris had a game-high 26 points and the host Gophers (5-8, 3-0 Landmark Conference) outscored the Crusaders (5-9, 1-2) 12-5 in overtime to win. The win gave sole possession of first place to Goucher.

Goucher led by two with eight seconds left when Susquehanna's Brendon Hedley made a one-handed runner to force overtime.

Salisbury 61, York 58: Travon Vann (St. John's-Prospect Hall) stripped the Spartans' Todd Maciejewski of the ball with 35 seconds left and raced the other way for a go-ahead layup for the visiting Sea Gulls (11-4, 2-0 Capital Athletic Conference). York fell to 5-9, 1-2.

New Hampshire 63, UMBC 62: Morgan Frame recorded her second double double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds to power the host Wildcats (6-9, 4-2 America East) over the Retrievers (5-11, 1-2).

Bria White had a game-high 22 points for UMBC.

Goucher 52, Susquehanna 51: The host Crusaders (5-9, 0-3) held the lead for the entire game, except for the final 16 seconds, when TaQuasia Lambert (Patapsco) made a game-winning 3-pointer for the Gophers (5-8, 1-2).

Goucher struggled at first with nine turnovers and 1-for-12 shooting put the Gophers behind early. Susquehanna took its largest lead into the locker room, 18 points at the half.

In the second half, the Gophers played better defense and held Susquehanna without a basket for the first 4:52 cutting the lead to eight with a 12-2 run.

Susquehanna held a double-digit lead as late as 3:59 remaining, but the Gophers closed with a 13-2 run.

Frostburg State 51, Wesley 42: Brynn Arnone had a double double, 12 points and 10 rebounds, and the host Bobcats (5-9, 1-3 Capital Athletic Conference) used a 10-0 run in the first half to build the lead and capture their first conference win.

The Wolverines fell to 2-11, 0-4.

Frostburg State shot 46 percent and held Wesley to 20 percent from the field.

Salisbury 66, York 53: Courtney McManus hit five 3-pointers and finished with a career-best 19 points to lead the visiting Sea Gulls (7-6, 2-0 Capital) past the Spartans (11-3, 2-1).

The first half ended in a tie at 29. McManus scored 14 of her 19 points in the second half. The Sea Gulls held York to 24.2 percent shooting.

St. Mary's 100, Notre Dame (Md.) 20: Maddie Hook came off the bench to score a game-high 17 points and the host Seahawks (7-6) won their second straight.

St. Mary's led 47-8 at halftime. Lauren Santi had 10 points for the Gators (1-10).

Albright: 73, Hood 52: The host Lions (7-7, 3-4 Commonwealth) went on an 18-0 run eight minutes into the game to pull away from the Blazers (4-9, 2-4).

Briana lee and Verkia Smith each scored 11 points for Hood. Kelecia Harris had a game-high 15 points for Albright.

Local basketball fans will have 81 Division I men's players from this area to track this season. The Sun's annual list highlights natives of Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Harford County and Howard County, and/or graduates of high schools in those areas....